Father's 36-year jail term for sexually assaulting daughter upheld by Court of Appeal
PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — The Court of Appeal today upheld the 36-year prison sentence and 24 strokes of the cane imposed on a workshop owner convicted of incest and sexually assaulting his 12-year-old daughter over three consecutive days, four years ago.
Deputy public prosecutor Zander Lim Wai Keong confirmed to Bernama that a three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali unanimously dismissed the 43-year-old appellant's appeal against both conviction and sentence.
Justice Ruzima, in delivering the decision, held that the appeal was devoid of merit.
The panel, which also comprised Justices Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, affirmed the ruling of the High Court.
In June 2021, the man was charged in the Sessions Court with one count of physical sexual assault, three counts of incest, and two charges under Section 377CA of the Penal Code for committing sexual acts involving penetration.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 for the physical sexual assault, and under Section 376B of the Penal Code for incest.
On July 10, 2023, the Sessions Court convicted him on all charges and imposed a total of 68 years imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane.
On August 8, 2023, the High Court upheld his conviction but allowed the appeal on sentence, ordering the custodial terms for the incest and penetration offences to run concurrently instead of consecutively.
As a result, his effective sentence was reduced to 36 years' imprisonment.
The offences were committed at a house in Sungkai, Perak, on June 7, 8 and 9, 2021.
In today's proceedings, the appellant was represented by counsel, Matthews Matt, while Zander Lim appeared for the respondent. — Bernama
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